Pavyllon in Monaco – Yannick Alléno's counter above the harbour

Fine dining without the formality: at Hôtel Hermitage, Yannick Alléno serves Riviera cooking across a long counter and on a terrace facing the sea. Pavyllon Monte-Carlo holds one MICHELIN star and is open every day for lunch and dinner.

Pavyllon is Yannick Alléno's version of fine dining without the formality: cooking with full ambition, served at a counter rather than with the ceremony of a classic gastronomic dining room. The first Pavyllon opened at Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris; the second was inaugurated at Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo on 23 April 2022. Its menu is generous and built on the colours and flavours of the south of France, and it holds one MICHELIN star, confirmed in the 2026 guide.

It is also an easy starred table to fit into a stay. Pavyllon serves lunch and dinner every day of the week, has a children's menu, and lets guests eat as much or as little as they like – a single plate at the counter or a long tasting menu on the terrace.

01The counter and the terrace

The interior is by Chahan Minassian, who also designed Pavyllon in Paris. At its centre is an elliptical counter that runs between the open kitchen and the dining room, so that the cooks finish each plate in front of the guests. Behind it, a play of mirrors and mosaics reflects the room, and the palette of blues echoes the sea outside. There are intimate alcoves, a main dining room and private areas.

In fine weather the meal moves outside, to a planted Mediterranean terrace facing the sea, with the marina and the Rock of Monaco in view.

02How Alléno cooks here

The MICHELIN inspectors describe gourmet counter food with a distinctive, unorthodox identity, focused on the seasons and on wellbeing – plants, seafood and desserts low in sugar. Seasonal vegetables come from the hotel's own kitchen garden, part of the fish is caught according to the Mr. Goodfish sustainability charter, and Alléno's extraction techniques give the broths and sauces their concentration: one of the vegetable starters is a broth of vegetable extractions with green Chartreuse and celery ravioli.

Insider tip

Ask for the terrace in fine weather; the Brève de Comptoir menu is a weekday lunch.

03What to order

The cold creative starters include a sea bream sashimi with cucumber and lemon-rice vinaigrette, a fresh fig tartlet with poached foie gras, and bluefin tuna with San Remo red prawn, an Osciètra caviar condiment and cold dashi. Among the hot ones are a steamed Comté soufflé in the Milanese style, a courgette flower stuffed with sea bass in sweet almond sauce and a langoustine pie with Prunier caviar and beurre blanc. Pasta includes a green lasagna Milanese made to Luigi Taglienti's recipe and casarecce cacio e pepe with red prawn tartare.

Main courses run from aiguillettes of Cians trout with ginger butter and a guinea fowl with confit lemon to a wood-fire-grilled blue lobster, langoustines with curry mayonnaise and a plate of yellowtail, tuna and other noble cuts sliced by the sushi chef. Three "must have" dishes – a Wagyu millefeuille, a veal Milanese with cheese fondue, and surf and turf – sit at the top of the list. Desserts include a steamed chocolate soufflé, a yuzu tartlet with crystallised herbs and finger lime, and a Lebanese gum ice cream with orange-blossom honey.

For a set meal there are two tasting menus: the five-course Monte-Carlo menu and the seven-course Hermitage menu. On weekdays at lunchtime, the shorter Brève de Comptoir menu offers three courses. The tasting menu prices are not shown on the published menu, so ask when booking.

04Around the Hermitage

Pavyllon shares the hotel with L'Abysse Monte-Carlo, Alléno's two-star sushi restaurant, which opened in 2024. The Casino, the Opéra and Hôtel de Paris are a few minutes away across Place du Casino, and the hotel looks out over the harbour of Port Hercule.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.